


Things Aren't Always What They Seem

by islashlove



Category: Psych
Genre: M/M, Male Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-28
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-02-22 23:50:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2526230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/islashlove/pseuds/islashlove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lassiter stares into the eyes of his executioner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Prologue

Detective Carlton Lassiter shivered as he kneeled, naked, on the cold hard concrete floor of his prison cell.

His body was covered in bruises and cuts from the constant bashings he had received. His hands were handcuffed behind him and then to his feet. The fingers belonging to the two men that held him firm, dug deeply into his shoulders.

He looked up into the face of his executioner and the blood from his open wounds, mixed with sweat, ran down his face, burning his eyes. But despite all the pain, all he could do was focus on the cold and unfeeling green eyes that were staring into his blue ones.

And as the cold metal barrel of his own gun was pressed against his head, all he could think of was how wrong this was. He shouldn't be here. He was just doing his duty and now he was about to die for doing it. As he felt the shooter tense up slightly steadying the gun to fire, Lassiter heard him speak.

"Do you have any last words, Detective?" The voice and words sounded so...foreign; so...out of place, coming from this man he knew.

"No!" Lassiter whispered with a raspy voice.

"What? Not even going to beg for your life, Detective? Pathetic, aren't you; and here I was, thinking you were better than this. I thought you were a good detective. I guess I was wrong." The voice was mocking him and he could also hear it dripping with hate.

Lassiter could feel his own hatred rising, but he could do nothing to stop what was about to happen. All he could do was to think. Think about how it should be him shooting this son-of-a-bitch, not the other way around.

And it definitely shouldn't be Spencer who was about to pull the trigger.

Just as Lassiter heard the firing pin click, he closed his eyes and prayed for a miracle.


	2. A Few Days, Earlier.

The day had started out the same way it always did. Lassiter was sitting at his desk when a file landed heavily on it and with-in five minutes Spencer and his black lackey walked through the door. As soon as he saw Spencer, Lassiter let out a low groan, for which he received a dirty look from his partner, Juliet O'Hara.

"Lassie, my man, I see a very dangerous case in your future and my advice to you is to avoid it," Spencer said in his sing/song way of saying things.

"I'm a cop, Spencer; danger is part of the job." Then Lassiter added. "Now get lost, we don't need your type of help here, today." And with that Lassiter turned his attention back to the file in his hand.

Had he taken a second to watch Shawn, he would have seen him take that moment to have a closer look at the file he was holding. He would have also seen Spencer's eyes darken to an icy dark green, as he scanned the file. Realising that Spencer hadn't moved, Lassiter looked back up, just in time to see the green eyes go from the darker shade to a lighter one. Spencer was also wearing a great big smile, the same type of smile he gets when he has just solved a problem.

"You're still here, Spencer! I told you to go."

"Just hold it there, Detective!" Chief Vick said as she walked up to them. "I want them on this case as well."

"But Chief..."

"No buts about it, Detective, I want this case dealt with, as quickly as possible." And with that she walked away.

Lassiter let out another groan and returned to the file.

"Lassie..." Shawn said with a sound of pleading in his voice. "If you don't want me involved, why don't you hand the case over to someone else?"

Lassiter looked at Spencer and once again Shawn's eyes had changed colour, to an emerald green.

"Spencer, you're not a psychic and I don't give up on any case, for any reason, so let's just get going." Lassiter watched as a look which he could only describe as worry, flashed across Spencer's face.

Lassiter then watched as Spencer nervously looked around the station. Shrugging his shoulders, Lassiter stood up and with O'Hara and Gus in tow, they headed for the exit. Turning back around, Lassiter was surprised to see Spencer was talking to McNab.

"Spencer, are you coming?"

"Be right there, oh, Lassie of my life." Shawn called out, earning a few gasps from the other officers in the station.

Lassiter let a loud huff and turned to Gus. "We're going ahead. Meet us, when he is ready, at 23 Lighthouse Road. Got it?"

"Yes, Detective Lassiter, I've got it." With that Lassiter, along with O'Hara walked out of the station. Gus just stood there, waiting for Shawn, who was still talking to McNab.

"We have to do something with Detective Lassiter, Shawn," McNab whispered.

"Don't worry about Detective Lassiter. I can send him in the wrong direction when I need to. You just ring Mad Dog and warn him the police are on their way there. Also tell him to have it cleaned up for us to do a walk through. Got it?"

"Yes, sir, I've got it, you better get going. Mr. Guster is come this way."

"Ok, catch you later and don't worry, the drug deal will go down just fine." And with that Shawn met the quickly approaching Gus, turned him around and they both walked out the station.

Meanwhile, outside the station…

Lassiter and O'Hara headed to his car and climbed in. After they were settled, Lassiter handed O'Hara the file to read, as he drove to the address he gave Gus. As he drove, Lassiter went over the file in his mind.

One, there had been an increase of drug related incidents over the last couple of months. Two, a new biker gang called the Mad Dogs had just moved into the Santa Barbara area and three, biker gangs and drugs go hand in hand. So starting where their head quartes were, was the best thing to do.

He just had this strange feeling that Spencer shouldn't be involved.

Just as they pulled up, so did Guster and Spencer. All four climbed out of their respective cars and walked towards the large building. The front was done up like a house, and for all purposes, it was use just for that. But the back was a large warehouse.

Two very tough looking men were sitting out on the front porch. They were wearing black leather and what skin they could see was covered in tattoos. Their hair was long, as well as was their beards. In all, they looked just like typical bikers.

Lassiter took in everything he could see and then he looked at his partner. He could see she was nervous, but he also knew that O'Hara would be very professional. However, he wasn't so sure about Spencer.

Spencer just stood there, staring at the two men, with a great grin on his face, but his hands were moving, like he was nervous. Guster looked like he was just about to be sick. Shaking his head to clear it from the strange feeling he had, they continued to walk up the driveway.

"What do you want, pigs?" the first man said.

"How do you know we're cops?" O'Hara asked.

"Because, you look like pigs, you smell like pigs and now that you have opened your mouth, you squeal like pigs," snarled the second one. Then both men broke into laughter at the joke. "So, my friend just asked you, what do you want, pigs?"

"We want," Lassiter said, butting in, before O'Hara could say anything back at them. "To know if you have been up to anything illegal, since you have been in Santa Barbara."

"Illegal…anything illegal...now really, Detective, do you think that we're that stupid, as to tell you that we're doing something illegal. You've got to be joking?" mocked the first one.

"Right, you're completely right. It was stupid of me. Any chance we could to talk to your leader."

Lassiter watched as they looked at each other and then back to the group. If Lassiter had watched a little closer, he would have seen that they were actually looking at Spencer, who had nodded his head.

"Sure, I'll go and get him." The second man turned to go into the house.

He re-emerged about five minutes later, followed by a very big man. If Lassiter thought the first two men looked tough, this one was their daddy. He stood at least six foot two and was built like the proverbial brick house. Although he didn't have any tattoos that they could see, he wore a custom made black suit. He also had a neat haircut and was clean shaven. In all, if you had seen him in the street you wouldn't even give him a second glance.

"You're the leader of the Mad Dogs?"

"Yes, who's asking?"

"I'm Detective Lassiter and this is my partner Detective O'Hara and you are?"

"They call me Mad Dog." he said looking Lassiter straight in the eyes, he then looked at Spencer and Gus. "And who are you?"

"They're…"

"I asked them who they were, Detective, not you."

"I'm Shawn Spencer, resident psychic to the Santa Barbara police and this is my friend, Chocolate Bowling Ball," Shawn said as he placed a hand on Gus' head.

"Shawn!" Gus scrolled as he pushed Shawn's hand away. "I'm Burton Guster."

"You should have stayed with the first name," Mad Dog said to Gus, then turned back to Lassiter. "So, Detective Lassiter, what can I do for you?"

"There has been an increase in drug related crimes in town since you and your group moved to Santa Barbara. We're just wondering if you might know something about it."

"No, I don't know anything, but I will tell you this, Detective, just because we're a group of people who like to ride bikes doesn't mean we're a biker gang and it doesn't mean we're involved with drugs. You can have a look around, if you like."

"Thank you, we just might do that." Lassiter moved towards the porch.

He watched as the first two men moved to get in his way, only to see the leader tell them too let him pass. All four walked through the house and then in to the back, where the warehouse was. Lassiter was surprised to see at least ten bikes standing to one side, each one just as beautiful as the next. The rest of the warehouse had been turned into a workshop and a group of men and women were working on several different projects. One was a bike, another was a car; there was even a wood lathe being operated and around it stood a group of kids that Lassiter recognized as having arrested in the past.

"What's going on here?" Juliet asked she didn't even try to hide the sound of wonderment in her voice.

"We run a workshop. We repair or restore just about anything, and we employ local kids to try and teach them a trade, so they stay off the street."

"Right, just like the Good Samaritan you are," Lassiter said making sure they could hear the sarcasm in his voice.

"Unless you have anything else, Detective, I think you should leave."

"We will be leaving, Mad Dog, but we will be back. I promise you that." With that Lassiter and the group left.

If Lassiter had stuck around just a little bit longer instead of storming off, he would have seen Spencer give Mad Dog the thumbs up.


	3. The Devil's Tail.

Just as they reached Lassiter's car, a call came in.

"Detective Lassiter, there has been another drug overdose case. The victim has been taken to the hospital. Chief Vick would like you, Detective O'Hara and the psychic team to head over there and interview the witnesses, over."

"Read you loud and clear, Officer Stiles. Show us attending, over."

"I have now shown that you are attending, Detective Lassiter, over."

Lassiter turned to the others and let them know what was happening. Within a few moments, they were all in their respective vehicles and heading towards the hospital. They arrived ten minutes later and were walking to the waiting room where the victim's family and friends were waiting for news.

Opening the door, Lassiter was glad to see that the attending officer was McNab. His curiosity rose when he noticed McNab looking expectantly at Spencer and Spencer give McNab the thumbs up, followed by the biggest grin he had ever seen.

Spencer must have realised that Lassiter was looking at him, for just as quickly as the smile appeared; it disappeared, replaced by a frown and what looked like anger in Spencer's eyes. By the time he had turned back to McNab, the tall officer was talking to O'Hara. Frowning, Lassiter took a mental note to ask McNab what was going on between them.

"O'Hara, what do we have?"

"Well, from what McNab has said, the teenager, one Jason Todd, and friends had gone out to that new disco on Main Street."

"What? The one that is open twenty-four seven?" Gus asked.

"That's the one. It only sells alcohol during the legal hours and non-alcoholic drinks the rest of the time." Apparently this man came up to them and offered them some drugs to try. The friend claims they said no, but the man just gave some pills to them and walked away. He guesses that the temptation was just too big for Jason and he must have taken one."

"What did they do with the other drugs?"

"They're here," O'Hara said holding up an evidence bag, which held four little red tablets. "I just don't understand why people take drugs." As she said this her eyes fell onto Gus. "Oh, Gus, I don't mean the drugs you sell, I mean…"

"I know what you mean, Juliet, and I, too, don't understand why people take drugs." Gus looked hard at Shawn, who was eyeing the four red pills.

Shawn wasn't listening to anything they were saying. He had seen these pills before and he knew they killed. He had even cooked them before, so he already knew what went into them. What had caught his attention were the little white markings on each pill. It was a picture of a devil's tail which meant that they trouble for him and the Mad Dog biker gang.

"Shawn…"

"The Devil's Tail!"

"What was that, Spencer?" Lassiter snapped, tired of Spencer's tomfoolery.

Shawn realised that everyone was looking at him and he had to come up with something. Placing his hand to his temple in his psychic pose, he repeated what he had said.

"The Devil's Tail, I see an image. It, it looks like a spear head, but the staff curves like a snake. It is white in colour, but surrounded by red, blood red. Death, oh, my god, death follows it. Everywhere it goes, death follows. Nooo…" Shawn then collapse onto the floor clutching his head.

Gus rushed out the door to get a doctor. Juliet knelt down trying to calm Shawn as he rolled around the floor and Lassiter is suddenly bombarded by question from the boy's family, as to what was happening. In all of the chaos, no one noticed McNab and Shawn exchange looks, or McNab pick up the evidence bag, bend over to help O'Hara and place the bag into Shawn's pocket.

Once Shawn was sure the bag was well hidden in his pocket, he stopped his thrashing about and just laid still. The next thing he knew, there were doctors all around him and he was being put onto a gurney and rushed out of the room.

Once Spencer was gone and Lassiter had managed to calm the group of people, turned to Gus. "Guster, what the hell was that?"

"I don't know, Detective." Gus was a little freaked out. "I've never see that happen to Shawn before".

"Great, now we have to wait to find out what he knew."

"Well, at least we can send the pills off to be tested," Juliet said as she tried to find the bag with the pills in it.

Frowning, Juliet searched her pockets again. Realising that she didn't have the pills, she looked at Lassiter.

"Do you have the pills?"

"No, you had them."

"Well, they're not here now."

All four of them searched the floor for the bag, but of course they didn't find it. Lassiter looked over at the family of the teenager and wonder if maybe one of them might have picked it up.

"McNab, go outside and call this in and get a few other officers down here now. I want those drugs found."

"Yes, Detective," McNab said just before he headed out the door.

"Do you really think someone from the family took them?" Gus asked.

"I don't know, Guster, but I do know that it was only us and them in this room when the drugs went missing. So who do you think took them?"

"I, I don't know." And while they waited for back up to arrive, a doctor came in to inform the family that Jason didn't make it.

Meanwhile, outside the room McNab was making a few phone calls. The first one was to the station to get back up. The other was to Mad Dog.

"Yeah, that's right, Mad Dog. Someone is giving away 'The Devil's Tail' and by the looks of it, it has already claimed its first victim."

"…"

"No, I don't know what Shawn wants us to do just yet. He has the drugs and we're just going to have to wait for now. But just keep your head up. I'm sure Detective Lassiter will be back to see you again."

"…"

"You're welcome. I've got to go now, bye." And with that McNab hung up the phone and returned to the room to wait with the others for back up to arrive.


	4. Spencer's Eyes

An hour after the drugs went missing, Chief Vick was standing there apologising to the family and friends of Jason, for the behaviour of her detectives. Fifteen minutes later she was standing in a different room. It was the hospital room they had put Shawn in and she was waiting for an explanation.

"I'm sorry, Chief, but we had the drugs and then they were gone. And before you ask, we checked each other for them before we approached the family."

"Do you have any idea where the drugs went, or when?"

"Sometime between Spencer starting his fit and when the doctors took him out of the room. And yes, we did search Spencer and the doctors and we found nothing."

"So, how could an evidence bag go missing in a more or less a closed room?"

"I have no idea, Chief. Anyway, what did you see Spencer?"

"Me!" Shawn said mocking a shocked look.

"Yes, you! What did you see that caused the severe reaction that you had this time?" Lassiter snarled at him.

"Lassie, darling, you know how hard it is to decipher what my visions are about," Shawn said, grinning like hyena.

"Spencer." Lassiter growled at him. "One of these days, I'll…" he continued, placing his hand on his gun.

"Not, if I don't shoot you first," Shawn replied grinning.

Lassiter was taken aback by the seriousness in Spencer's voice and wondered if anyone else heard it. If they did, they didn't show it.

"Well, we'll go and write up the reports. McNab, stay here just in case Mr. Spencer remembers anything."

"Yes, Chief."

As they were all leaving, Shawn called Lassiter back.

"What do you want, Spencer?"

"Lassie, I…I want you off this case."

"What! How dare you, Spencer. You want, ME, off this case. Why you little…"

"You are going to die, if you don't. That's what I saw, your death."

"What, my death. How, when?" Lassiter whispered as he lowered his voice.

"I don't know," Spencer said with a seriousness Lassiter had never heard before. "All I saw was blood, lots and lots of blood and you were lying in the middle of it."

Lassiter stared at Spencer. His face had paled and his voice slowly grew quieter as he spoke. When Spencer had finished talking, he looked up into Lassiter's face and their eyes meet.

After a minute of silence, just staring into each other's eyes, they heard a small cough. Turning around they saw McNab, with a slight tinge of red on his cheek. Lassiter let out his own cough and turned back to face Spencer.

"Spencer, as I've told you before, you are not psychic and I don't believe in what you reckon you saw. Now excuse me, but I have work to do." And with that Lassiter headed out the door, but he did hear Spencer call out.

"You're wrong, Lassie. I did see it and I don't want you to die." Shaking his head, Lassiter just kept on walking.

As he walked down the hallway, Lassiter tried to work out what had just happened. Why did his heart feel like it had stopped when he looked into Spencer's eyes and what did he see in them? Fear, concern and what, love? No, that can't be right. For starters, Spencer isn't gay and to come and think of it, neither was he. No, it wasn't love that he saw. It must have been something else and although he tried not to think about it, Lassiter's mind kept wandering back to the look in Spencer's eyes.

Meanwhile, back in Shawn's hospital room, he and McNab were having a real heart to heart talk.

"I can't believe you were doing that, Shawn?"

"What, I'm trying to get Lassiter to drop this case, unless, you want him dead?"

"Don't be stupid. Of course I don't want him dead. Detective Lassiter is more useful to us alive. But, I've seen that look in your eyes before and…"

"And, what, yes, I like Lassie. He is a good man and a good cop. What's not to like?" Shawn said with a nervous laugh.

"You know what I mean. And if you let yourself fall for Detective Lassiter, you will be jeopardising this drug deal we're about to make."

"No, I won't. I know how much is riding on this deal, and how important it is that it goes down. But as you said, Detective Lassiter is worth more to us alive than dead." Shawn's voice held a dangerous tone. "Now, take these," Shawn said holding up the missing evidence bag. "And get Mad Dog to run them. If they're the same as in LA, we're in trouble."

"Yes, Shawn," McNab said with a slight snarl. "Do you know when you will be getting out of here?"

"In the morning, you just do as you're told and keep an eye on our detectives."

"I will." And with that McNab left.

He took the four pills to Mad Dog and then went to the station to fill in his report for what had happened that day. After finishing it, he grabbed himself some food and drink, and set himself up in a position to watch Detective Lassiter's house. Picking up his phone he made a phone call.

"Hi, darling, sorry, but I have to work late tonight. Sorry you missed this call. I love you."

Hanging up, he wonders why in the hell his wife stays with him.

Inside Lassiter's house, the detective stared out the window at the car parked across the street. Smiling, he realises that he must have upset someone. Maybe a certain drug dealer called Mad Dog. Yawning, he headed to bed, but sleep didn't come easily that night.

At first his mind kept wandering to Spencer's eyes and when he finally did fall asleep his dreams were haunted by images of Spencer's eyes, and himself lying in a pool of blood and Spencer standing over him, holding a gun to his head. He jumped awake just as Spencer pulled the trigger.


	5. Shawn Gets out of the Hospital.

"Sorry, Lassie, I love you, but I told you to stay away from this case for a reason. Goodbye." Shawn leans in and gives Lassiter a passionate kiss and then he pulls the trigger.

Lassiter jolts awake, sweat running down his back, causing him to shiver. Looking around, he sees he is in his own bedroom. Getting up, he looks out the window, but the car he is looking for is gone. Shaking his head, Lassiter looks at the clock radio beside his bed and seeing it's just six, he heads for the shower.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Gus was at the hospital to pick up Shawn. Why so early? He didn't know. All he knew was that Shawn had given him a call at five telling him to be there at seven.

As they walked out of the hospital, a group of bikers rode up and encircled them.

"So, psychic, how's your search going?" Mad Dog laughed as he pulled up in front of them.

"Search, Gus do you know what we're supposed to be searching for?" Shawn said in a sarcastic tone.

"No, Shawn, I don't."

Mad Dog snarled at Shawn. He knew Shawn was only kidding, but sometimes he just wished he would calm down a little bit. He also knew the drug deal coming up was very important if they were to break into the local trade.

"Are you some kind of comedian? I'm not joking, pig wipe. You were with those two pigs that came to our place yesterday, but you didn't find anything, did you?"

"Oh, you were at that fancy house we visited yesterday," Shawn said with a grin.

"Yeah, we were. So I ask again, did you find what you were looking for?"

"And what do you think we were looking for?"

"What?" for a second Mad Dog was taken aback by what Shawn had said and forgetting that Shawn is his employer, he barked back. "Why you…if I were you, I'd book a permanent bed in there." Mad Dog punctuated his threat by nodding towards the hospital.

"I think you forget who I am," Shawn snarled back.

"Shawn!" Gus calling his name seemed to remind Shawn where he was.

"Sorry Gus. Look, Mad Dog, I don't like being threatened, so I'm sorry, but I can't help you." Shawn pushed his way through, to get to Gus' car.

Mad Dog and his group watched as they reached the blueberry. Shawn shuddered as he listened to the group behind them erupt into laughter. "If I was you, I'd get a better car than that one." They then started up their bikes and rode off.

Shawn made a mental note to give Mad Dog a good talking to when he sees him next. Shawn and Gus climbed into the car and sat there in silence for a few moments. Shawn gave Gus a sidewards glance. He could see Gus was embarrassed and hurt, but it was Mad Dog's job to keep people away from the dealings of the gang and he was good at it.

"Gus…"

"Don't, Shawn, just don't," Gus said through gritted teeth.

Shawn knew there were times you didn't push Gus and this was one of these times. Shawn would have loved to have told Gus what was going on, but he couldn't jeopardise the deal that was going down. There was just too much riding on the success of this deal; just too much. So they just sat quietly in the car. Finally, Gus broke the silence.

"So, Shawn, why did you want me to pick you up so early?"

'What?" Shawn said a little confused.

"You rang me up at five this morning and asked me to pick you up at seven. Why?" Gus repeated himself as he gave Shawn a concerned look.

"Oh, well you know me. I hate hospitals and once they said I could go, well, I rang you."

"Why didn't you ring your dad, Shawn?"

"Because, you know my dad, and I didn't feel like a lecture at the moment, that's why."

"Damn right I do. Ok, so where do you want to go?"

"Home for now, I didn't get much sleep in there and I'm dead tired."

"Ok, Shawn, I'll take you home, but if you need anything and I mean anything at all today, don't ring me. I need to get some of my real job done, or I'm going to lose it."

"Ok, buddy, no ringing you today," Shawn said as he mentally laughed about the fact that they both are selling drugs. "If I need anything, I'll ring Lassie."

"Yeah, as if that is going to happen," Gus said smiling.

"Hey, we are working on a case together, aren't we?"

"Yes, Shawn, you are, but that doesn't mean he is going to run you all over town. Well, here we are. Now get some sleep."

"Thanks buddy, I owe you one and I promise not to call you today." Shawn climbed out of the car and stood there and watched Gus drive away then, headed into his house. As soon as he opened up the door, he knew someone was there. Looking around, he saw a shadowy figure standing next to the couch. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the dim light and he saw who it was, Shawn relaxed.

"What are you doing here, Mad Dog?"

"Came to let you know about those pills you sent me to check."

"And are they the same?"

"Yes, they are. What do you want us to do?"

"We need to find out who is selling 'The Devil's Tail' and then we will find out who the supplier is. Once we do that we can get rid of them."

"Yes sir, and what about Detective Lassiter and his partner, O'Hara?"

"What about them?"

"Are you for real? What happens if they get too close?"

"The same thing has happens to every other cop that gets too close. They will disappear. But don't you worry about them just yet; I already have plans in place to deal with them. Now, you better get out of here before someone sees you."

"Like who, sir?" And just like the door bell was answering Mad Dog's question, it rang. "Right, I better get going, bye." And with that Mad Dog made a mad dash for the back door.

Shawn giggled to himself, as he slowly walked over to the door. The bell rang again, just as he reached it and as his hand closed around the nob, a fist started to pound on the door itself.

"Damn it, Spencer, open up." Lassiter's irate voice came barging through the door.

Just as he was about to knock again, Shawn opened it. But it was too late and the momentum cause Lassiter to fall forward. Shawn tried to catch him, but Lassie's size and weight knocked him off balance, sending both men crashing to the floor.


	6. A Brush with Lassie.

Neither man was able to move for a few moments. Finally,Lassiter groaned as he tried to get up, but it didn't help that Spencer was laughing underneath him.

"Lassie…Don't…Stop, oh god, don't, stop, you're tickling me," Spencer managed to gasp out.

Lassiter froze at these words. He could feel the heat rising in his checks as he wondered if Spencer meant stop or don't stop. Plus, it wasn't helping him much, with the way Spencer was wiggling underneath and against him. Realising that, one, Spencer had stopped moving and two, that they were staring into each other eyes, wasn't helping Lassiter's conflict of how he was feeling about this man beneath him.

"You know, Lassie, dear," Spencer said with a great big grin on. "If you wanted to jump my bones, you only had to ask."

Lassiter felt the redness creep even higher. Feeling embarrassed and angry about the way his body was reacting to the fake psychic, Lassiter managed to quickly stand up, giving Spencer a glare that he hoped came off as an annoyed look. But by the look on Spencer's face, it gave him the impression that it didn't.

"Spencer, why the hell did you open the door like that?" Lassiter barked, trying to regain some composure.

"Because, Lassie, dear, you were knocking on the door so hard, I was worried you were going to knock it down. Instead you knocked me off my feet," Shawn replied, giving Lassiter a dreamy look and holding out his hand for a help up.

Lassiter grunted as he grabbed Spencer's hand and pulled him to his feet. As Spencer brushed himself off, Lassiter gave him the once over. He was intrigued by how Spencer's body had felt beneath him. He also tried to understand why Spencer hid such a toned body under such baggy clothes, especially since he loves attention. But as he checked Spencer out, he didn't notice that Spencer was also checking him out.

And Shawn was definitely checking Lassie out. He could still smell the scent that was Lassiter. He could still feel the touches of his fingers as he tickled him and he could still feel Lassie's manhood, pressed against his leg.

'So, Lassie DOES like me!' Shawn thought to himself. 'Now, I really do need to get him away from this case and Mad Dog.'

"Spencer," Lassiter snapped, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, Lassie, umm, how did you know I was here?"

"Guster. When I found out you had left the hospital, I rang him. He told me he had just dropped you off here."

"Ok, that sounds about right. So, what did you want?"

"What, oh, well we are working on a case together, remember?"

"Oh, right, the case," Shawn whispered to himself. "So, I guess you would like to come in and talk about the case.

"NO, we need to go and re-check that Mad Dog's house. I've got a search warrant this time."

"Ok, but I need to…go to the toilet first."

"Well, make it snappy."

"I will, be back in a tic." And with that Shawn bolted to the bathroom. As he shut the door, he pulled out his phone. His call was answered after the third ring.

"Mad Dog, here."

"Mad Dog, its Shawn, Detective Lassiter and I are on our way there and he has a search warrant. You know what to do."

"And I thought you said you going to deal with the Detective."

"I will, this afternoon, just be ready for when we get there." Shawn hung up the phone, flushed the toilet and walk out to see Lassiter standing in his lounge.

Lassiter looked up and stared at Shawn with confusion in his eyes.

"Yes, Lassie?"

"What, Spencer?"

"You looked confused."

'I am not…I, I just thought you would have a lot more stuff in your place than you do, that's all."

Shawn looked around his lounge. There was the furniture which came with the place. Like a lounge, a coffee table, two chairs and a table. Other than that he had a few pictures and odds and ends scattered here and there. Thinking about it, Lassie was right, he didn't have much in the place, but there was a reason for it and that was because it was easier to move from city to city with only a few things.

"I guess you're right, but with me always moving around, it's just a lot easier not to have too much stuff."

"I guess that makes sense; anyway, we better get going."

"Going?" Shawn said trying to delay them so that Mad Dog had a little more time to hide the stuff.

"To Mad Dog's place, remember."

"What about Jules?"

"Detective O'Hara is meeting us there. Shall we?" Lassiter said as he held Shawn's front door open.

Smiling to himself, Shawn grabbed his keys and made sure he brushed up against Lassiter as he walked pass.

Lassiter closed his eyes as Spencer walked past and accidently brushed against him. At least he thinks it was accidently. Surely Spencer wouldn't have done it on purpose. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes again and then he closed the door and followed Spencer out to his car.

On the drive to Mad Dog's place, each man was lost in his own thoughts.

"Oh, my god, I've fallen for Spencer. I hope I didn't give it away to him. But then again, the way he was behaving, does he feel the same way about me? No, stop it, Carlton, there is no way he would like you that way."

"I can't believe Lassie likes me; me of all people. But the way his body reacted when we were on the floor, there is no way I could mistake his feelings. Now all I need to do is to work out how to get him away from this case and the drug deal I'm about to do. After all, if he gets too close, I'm going to have to take him out. Arr…now there is an idea."


	7. Coming Up Empty Handed.

As soon as Lassiter pulled up at Mad Dog's house, Juliet walked up. She was carrying the search warrant in her hand.

"About time you two got here. Where's Gus?"

"I promised Gus that I wouldn't annoy him for the rest of the day," Shawn said with a smile.

"Right, let's get this over with." Lassiter grabbed the warrant and started to walk over to the house.

"What's with the dogs?" Shawn asked as he watched some officers get the dogs out of the back of a van.

"They're sniffer dogs, Shawn. You know the ones used to find drugs."

"Right…sniffer dogs. Do you think we will find some drugs, Jules?"

"I think so. From past experience we almost always find drugs where bikies are."

"Ok," Shawn said giving Juliet a shaky smile.

As they walked up the stairs, Mad Dog and a few of his friends walked out the front door to meet them. Mad Dog didn't look happy to see them, not one little bit.

"What do you want, coppers?" he growled.

"We have a search warrant for this place," Lassiter said holding up the said paper work. "Do you have any objection to that?"

"Yeah, I do, but there's nothing I can do about it, is there?"

Smiling, Lassiter answered Mad Dog back. "No, there isn't, so if you don't mind…" Lassiter then proceeded to push his way through, followed by Juliet, Shawn and then the K-9 Unit. Mad Dog watched them enter and then he turned to the men with him.

"Make sure they're not left alone in any of the rooms. We don't want any crooked pigs planting anything, now do we?" The men nodded their heads and while two went with the officers, one headed off to the warehouse at the back.

Mad Dog just stood there and watched Lassiter as officers ran back and forth to him to report what they had found. He also kept eyeing Shawn. Lassiter had noticed this, but thought nothing of it. Shawn was holding his hand to his temple, trying to get a reading; at least that was what he said he was doing.

After they had checked the entire house, they then headed out into the warehouse. As soon as they entered, their way was blocked by at least ten very big men.

"Mr. Mad Dog, will you explain to your men that I have a search warrant and they have to let us pass."

"You heard the Detective."

"We did, but they're still not passing, at least not yet."

"What, so you have time to hide the drugs?" Lassiter sneered.

"No! It's so we can get the motor we have just taken out of the car, safely to the ground before it falls on someone." Just as the man finished speaking a voice called out from somewhere in the back.

"All done, it's safe to let them through."

The men that were standing in their way just stepped aside and Lassiter and his men rushed past. The K-9 Unit covered every inch of the warehouse and the high spots were covered by the policemen. After two and half hours of searching, they left empty handed.

Mad Dog watched as Lassiter, Juliet and Shawn walked down the front stairs. The smile he wore sent a shiver down Lassiter's spine. He knew that Mad Dog had drugs there, but somehow he was tipped off and had gotten rid of them before they had arrived. But who would have tipped a drug dealer off.

"Sorry you didn't find what you're looking for, Detective," Mad Dog sneered.

Lassiter was just going to walk away without saying anything, but after Mad Dog made that comment, Lassiter couldn't hold back any more.

"I know that somehow you were tipped off and I know that you have something to do with the new drug that has hit the streets," Lassiter barked back and then he remembered the name Spencer had said the day before. "You are, aren't you; you're dealing in Devil's Tail."

Lassiter couldn't stop the smile that formed on his face, as he watched a shocked look appeared on Mad Dog's. But the look quickly changed to anger in a blink of an eye.

"How dare you. You come onto my property, accusing me of dealing in drugs and now you are suggesting that I'm a murderer."

"No one said you were a murderer," Juliet said trying to calm the irate man.

"Yes he did." Mad Dog took a step towards Juliet. Before Lassiter could move, Shawn was already between Juliet and Mad Dog. "He has suggested that I'm dealing in Devil's Tail. It's a poison; a disease that is rotten to the core." Turning to face Lassiter he continued. "I'll tell you, Detective, if I was dealing in drugs, which I'm not, I would never touch the Devil's Tail. It's not good business management to kill off your clients and that is all the Devil's Tail does. It kills and the people, who deal in it, use it just for that, to kill, now, good bye, Detective's." And with that Mad Dog stormed back into his house and slammed the door shut leaving the two detectives and Shawn very shocked at the outburst.

"Well, what do you think of that?" Shawn said breaking the silence.

"I think he's lying. At least about not dealing in drugs, but I don't think he's dealing in the Devil's Tail," Lassiter said shaking his head.

"I agree," Juliet said. "Let's head back to the station and put our reports in."

"Well, can you drop me off at the psych offices?" Shawn said and when they looked at him strangely, he continued. "I came here with Lassie, I have no other way to get there remember."

"That's right; you promised Guster you wouldn't call him today. Ok, get in."

"Thank you, Lassie," Shawn said throwing his arms around Lassiter's neck. "You're a life saver and I hope someday I will be able the return the favour."

"Just get in the car, Spencer," Lassiter said as he pushed Shawn away. As Shawn moved away to get into the car, Lassiter closed his eyes. He just wished it didn't feel like heaven when Spencer put his arms around him and hell when he let go.

Half an hour later, Shawn stood on the sidewalk watching Lassiter and Juliet drive away from the psych office. He had to go and make a few phone calls and he just hoped that they would work and get Juliet and Lassiter away from this case.

At least until after the deal goes down.


	8. O'Hara's Leaves and a New Partner Enters

Lassiter and O'Hara had been back at the station for about two hours when Chief Vick called O'Hara into her office. About ten minutes later, Spencer walked through the door. But instead of walking over to Lassiter like he always did, Shawn walked over and started talking to McNab.

Lassiter watched them and from the way he kept looking at the Chief's office, he got the feeling that they were talking about O'Hara. Suddenly they were joined by a new officer, one Lassiter had never seen before. The three men talked among themselves for a few minutes before McNab showed the strange officer to Chief Vick's door. Lassiter kept watching in confusion as McNab knocked on the chief's door, entered with the officer and then exited by himself. McNab walked back to his desk where Spencer sat waiting for him. They talked a little bit more, but this time Lassiter had the funny feeling it was him they were talking about. And the way Spencer kept looking his way gave him a bad feeling. The type of feeling, that, if he didn't watch his back, he was going to find a knife in it. Lassiter was brought from his thoughts as O'Hara and the unknown officer left the Chief's Office and walked over to her desk. Lassiter could see that O'Hara had been crying, so he went over to see if he could help. At the same time, McNab and Spencer had also gone over to O'Hara's desk.

"O'Hara, are you ok?"

"My," Juliet tried to speak, but the words stopped short in her throat. After taking a deep breath she tried again. "My sister and nephews have been involved in a car accident. They were in LA for a holiday and…" Juliet broke off in a flood of tears.

Before Lassiter could do anything, Spencer was by her side with his arms wrapped around her shoulder. Lassiter stood there, shocked. He knew how close O'Hara was to her family and this would be devastating for her. But, mixed with his sorrow for O'Hara was jealousy. He was jealous because Spencer had his arm around O'Hara's shoulders.

"Don't worry, Jules. They're going to be ok," Shawn said in a soothing voice as he looked up at Gus who had just walked in.

Seeing the confused look on Gus' face, McNab pulled him aside and explained what had happened.

"I'm sure Spencer is right, O'Hara," Lassiter said trying to support his partner even though he felt like yelling at her to get away from Spencer.

"I'm sorry, Detective," the unknown officer said in a low voice, "but we need to get going."

"And who are you?" Lassiter was finally able to asked as he gave the officer the once over.

"I'm Officer Harrison from LA. I'm here to escort Detective O'Hara to LA to see her family."

"Oh, well…drive carefully," Lassiter said to Officer Harrison before he turned his attention back to O'Hara. In a softer voice he continued. "Now, O'Hara…Juliet, I'm sure your family will be fine. You just go and look after them and don't worry about anything that is going on here."

"Thank you, Carlton, and I'm sure that you and Shawn are right. They will be ok and I will be back as soon as I can."

"Jules, take all the time you need," Shawn said as he looked her in the eyes. "Trust me, Lassie and I can handle anything that comes our way and if you need support, take Gus."

"What! Shawn, what makes you think Juliet wants me tagging along with her?" Gus looked at Juliet and when he saw the look on her face he continued. "What I mean, Jules, isn't that I wouldn't love to go with you, It's just…I guessed you wouldn't want me too."

"It's ok, Gus; I would love it if you would go with me. That's alright, isn't it Officer Harrison?"

Officer Harrison gave Shawn a quick glance and Lassiter watched, as Shawn gave him a light nod in return.

"I guess it should be, Detective, but I just better ring it in first and check."

"Of course you should ring it in first, Harrison. I'll finish packing up my stuff while you do."

"Yes, Detective O'Hara, I'll only be a minute." And with that Officer Harrison move away from the group to make the call.

"Are you sure you can take time off to come with me Gus?"

Gus smiled at her. "I'm sure. I just started my holidays, so I have two weeks off anyway. If I can't go with you and the officer, I'll get the address to where you are going and I'll meet you there."

"Thank you," Juliet said getting up and giving him a hug.

A few minutes later, the phone on McNab's desk rang, so he excused himself to answer it. Lassiter watched as McNab answered his phone, but during the whole call never took his eyes off Harrison. Both men hung up at the same time and, although Officer Harrison walked back to where the group was, McNab headed off to the back rooms.

"My Chief said it was fine for Mr…"

"Guster; Mr. Burton Guster," Gus said holding out his hand to the officer.

Officer Harrison shook Gus' hand, before he continued.

"Anyway, Mr. Guster is allowed to go with you, Detective O'Hara."

"Thank you Officer Harrison. I will just need to grab a few things from my house and then we will pick you up from yours, Gus."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Shawn, stay out of trouble and I'll let you all know what's happening, ok."

"Ok, buddy and I'll be waiting for your phone call," Shawn replied giving Gus a great big grin.

Lassiter and Shawn watched as Juliet, Gus and Officer Harrison walked out of the bull pen. Just as Lassiter was about to give Shawn a warning to stay out of his way, Chief Vick called them both into her office.

When they entered, they found Detective Huet already sitting in a chair. Once all three men were seated, Chief Vick explained why she had called them all to her office.

"Detective Lassiter, as you well know, what has happen to O'Hara's family has caused her to leave us for a while, so I am appointing Detective Huet as your temporary partner until her return. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Chief, and I will fill him in on the case I'm working on right now."

"Good. Now, have you and Mr. Spencer made any break on the case yet?"

"The only thing we're sure about, Chief, is that the Mad Dog Biker Gang is involved with drugs, but we're not sure if they deal in the new drug that has hit the streets."

"Well get on with it, now, please."

"Yes, Chief," and with that the three men stood up, walked out of the Chief's office and over to Lassiter's desk.

"If you don't have anything else to offer right now, Spencer, you better head home and meet us back here at seven-thirty in the morning."

"You've got it, Lassie; I'll see you tomorrow at nine."

"Seven-thirty sharp, Spencer, be here, or else."

"Or else what, Lassie?"

"Or else, they won't ever find your body," Lassiter answered without looking up from the paperwork he was holding in his hand.

"Ok, I'll be here at seven-thirty in the morning. Man, you're grumpy," Shawn added before he walked off and headed out of the station.


	9. In the Locker Room

Lassiter sat at his desk. Looking at his watch he saw it was seven fifteen, which meant Spencer should be there in about fifteen minutes. A noise behind him made Lassiter turn to find Detective Huet bent over, trying to pick up the files he had just dropped. Shaking his head, he turned back around, only to come face to face with Spencer.

"Damn it, Spencer, what are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?" Lassiter yelled.

"No, but you told me to be here at seven thirty. And it is only seven twenty, so, I'm early," Shawn said smiling back at him.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Spencer, just…just sit down at O'Hara's desk for now. Detective Huet, have you picked up those files yet?"

"Yes, Detective Lassiter," Huet said as he walked up to Lassiter's desk.

"Good, give them to Spencer."

"Sir?"

"You heard me. Spencer, these files were sent over from the LA and New York police departments. Apparently, the drug called The Devil's Tail had been in these cities as well. And funny enough, Mad Dog's biker gang was in those cities at the same time. I want you to go over these files and see if you can get anything from them."

"I thought you didn't believe I'm psychic, Lassie," Shawn said grinning at him.

"Just let us know if you see anything, Spencer," Lassiter groaned.

Shawn had a closer look at Lassiter and he could see the man hadn't had much sleep. There were bags starting to show under his eyes and even his bite seemed…tired. Shawn tried to work out what could be playing on the Detective's mind enough to affect his sleep. Even during his divorce, Lassie didn't look so defeated. This worried Shawn. After all, if Lassie isn't at his best, he won't be able to see the danger, until it was too late.

For the next two hours, the three men went over all the case files that were sent to them. They were made up from either the drug or Mad Dog's gang. By the time they had finished the last file, they were all suffering from headaches and had very little to show. The only thing Shawn had noticed was that one name kept coming up in all of the files. The name of the man he has a meeting with in less than seven hours to organise a drug deal.

Looking over at Lassie, Shawn could see he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. And with the way his head ached, Shawn guessed that Lassiter needed a break. Having a quick thought, he came up with an idea to get Lassie to go home and get some sleep and a chance for him to catch up with Mad Dog before the meeting.

"Detective Huet," Shawn whispered.

"What do you want, Mr. Spencer?" Detective Huet whispered just as quietly.

"He," Shawn said pointing at Lassiter "needs to go home and get some sleep. So I'm going to do just that, get him to go home. Can you keep working on this alone?"

"Of course I can and good luck with him," Detective Huet said as he stood up with his coffee cup in hand and walked out of the room.

Shawn watched Huet leave, before he woke Lassiter up.

"Come on, Lassie."

"What…what do you want, Spencer?"

"What time did you go home last night, Lassie?"

"I didn't, I need to find the bastard that's selling this drug."

"I know, Lassie, but you're not going to catch him if you don't get some sleep."

"No, I need to keep working."

"Look, let me take you home. You get some sleep and Detective Huet and I will keep on working. If we find something, I'll let you know straight away."

"You promise?"

"I promise. A, cross my heart and hope to die, type promise." Shawn ran his fingers across his heart to show he meant it.

"Alright, Spencer, where is Huet?"

"He's gone to get some more coffee. Now, shall we go, so you can get some sleep?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Yes and no."

"How so?"

"You don't have a say about going home, but you do have a choice as to whose home you go to, yours or mine?"

"What!" Lassiter said sitting up wide awake.

"Your place; which is on the other side of town. Or mine, which is only a few blocks from here."

"Oh, I…I'm sorry, Spencer," Lassiter said shaking his head. "You're right, I do need some sleep. I guess your place will be better, as you said it is closer."

"Now that's a good decision, Lassie. I'll just go and let Chief Vick know what's happening."

"Ok and I'll go and get a few things from the locker room."

"Fine, let's meet out front in ten?"

"Deal!" Lassiter said holding out his hand for Shawn to shake.

Shawn looked at the offered hand. He couldn't believe it. Lassie was actually acting nice to him, but he guessed it must have been because he is so tired. But he wasn't going to miss this opportunity. Shaking Lassiter's hand, Shawn smiled, knowing there was a chance that they could at least be friends, even if he wanted more from the man.

They left the room which they had been using and headed off towards their planned destinations. Shawn headed towards the Chief Vick's office, only to be stopped by McNab.

"Harrison ran. Detective O'Hara and Mr. Guster have been taken care of."

"Good, now I can just concentrate on Lassie. Are you going to be there for the meeting at five?"

"No, I think it would be better that they don't know who all of us are, at least not yet."

"Ok, well, I'm off to see the Chief about getting Lassie home so he can get some sleep and at least out of our way for now."

"Ok, just be careful, she's not in a good mood."

"Thanks for the warning, McNab." Shawn tapped McNab on the arm before he continued his walk to the Chief's office. He knocked once and when told to enter, he did, shutting the door behind him.

Meanwhile in the locker room, Lassiter stood still, leaning against a group of locks listening to Detective Huet and another officer talking.

"The meeting is set for five this afternoon."

"And Mad Dog was happy with that, Detective Huet?"

"Yes, and he is bringing his boss, so we can deal directly with him."

"You sure that's wise? I mean, it could be a set up."

"Could be, but once they see that we're the ones with the Devil's Tail there won't be any problems."

"Yeah, and we have the law behind us." While the two men stood there laughing at their joke, Lassiter went to pull out his gun.

Not finding it, he remembered he had left his gun on his desk. Frowning, he wondered what he could do; after all, if he confronted them with this, it would be his word against theirs. Then he got an idea, he tried to carefully take out his phone so he could record anything else they might say.

Unfortunately, the phone slipped out of his hand and hit he floor with a loud clunk. Looking around the corner, Lassiter let out a sigh when he saw they had left.

"So," Lassiter said to himself. "Detective Huet is the bastard that is selling The Devil's Tail, is he. Well, he's going to go down; down hard."

As Detective Lassiter turned around to head out and tell Spencer and the Chief what he heard, he collided with a fist. Falling backwards, Lassiter struck his head hard on the floor. Just before he passed out, a face came into focus. It was Huet and the smile he had on his face made Lassiter shiver. Then everything went black.


	10. Where is Lassie?

Shawn walked out of Chief Vick's office with a great smile on his face. She had told him that if he could get Lassie to go home and get some sleep, she would be forever grateful to him.

As he walked through the bullpen, he looked around to see if Lassie was still there or if he was outside waiting for him. Seeing Lassie's gun laying on his desk, Shawn assumed that whatever Lassie was doing in the locker room must have been taking him a lot longer then he thought it would. After all, Lassie doesn't just leave his gun lying around, but then again, he was very tired. As he walked over to Lassiter's desk, he was joined by McNab.

"I just got a call from Mad Dog."

"And what did our friend have to say?" Shawn said as he looked around, making sure no one could overhear them.

"He said that the 'MAN' we have a meeting with, had rung to change times for the meeting. Apparently something has come up."

"Like what?"

"He didn't say, only that they might have a test for you, to prove if you can be trusted or not."

"Ok, well I've got to go and find Lassie. I'm supposed to be taking him home to get some sleep and thanks for slipping that sleeping pill in his drink for me."

"That's what I'm here for."

"Well, you just make sure that Mad Dog and his gang get to Lassie's to kidnap him while he's still under the effects of the sleeping pill. After all we don't want Lassie shooting any of them, do we?

"No sir, we don't," McNab said with a little laugh.

"McNab, have you seen Lassie come out of the locker room?" Shawn asked a little concerned as to why Lassie was taking so long.

"No, when did he go back there?"

"When I went to the Chief's office. Could you duck back there and see if you can find him?"

"Sure, he's probably fallen asleep." And with that McNab walked off towards the door that led to the back rooms of the station.

Shawn stood there looking around. He was getting worried, very worried. Sure they had slipped Lassie a sleeping pill, but it wasn't a very strong one, just strong enough for them to be able to get the upper hand, so they could kidnap him. Unfortunately, his worry grew when he saw McNab running his way.

"He's gone," McNab gasped.

"What do you mean, he's gone?"

"I checked everywhere. Detective Lassiter is nowhere to be seen and I know he didn't come out this way."

"What about one of the back doors?"

"The one right at the back was opened."

"So in his sleepy state, Lassie pushed the door open and walked out."

"No!"

"Why not, McNab?"

"Because that door is padlocked and has an alarm connected to it. Both the padlock and the alarm have been cut. There is also blood on the locker room floor."

"We better tell the Chief."

"You think?" And with that comment McNab and Shawn race over to the Chief's office.

Shawn didn't even stop to knock; he just barged in, startling Chief Vick and his dad.

"Mr. Spencer," the Chief barked. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Lassie has been kidnapped."

"What? What do you mean?"

"While I was in here letting you know I was going to take Lassie home, someone kidnapped him."

"Please, Mr. Spencer, Detective Lassiter probably just fell asleep somewhere."

"Sorry, Chief, but I don't think so. Mr. Spencer asked me to go back to the locker room and check on Detective Lassiter. I can't find him and the back door that is locked and has the alarm on it, well, it was open and the alarm and lock have been cut."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Chief, and there is blood on the locker room floor. I put officer's Thyme and Horne on guard."

"Right, show me," Chief Vick said as she stood up and with Henry and Shawn in tow, they all headed towards the back rooms.

As they approached the locker room, they found Officer Thyme standing guard.

"Alright, Officer Thyme, stay on guard until I tell you differently. No one is to go back here without my orders."

"Yes, Chief," Officer Thyme answered.

They entered the locker room and McNab led them to where the blood was. There wasn't much, but enough to worry everyone in the group.

"There are drag marks," Shawn said pointing to where he could see the marks that were leading towards the door that McNab had mentioned.

The group followed the drag marks to the door. Lying on the floor were the cut lock and wires hanging from the alarm system.

"McNab, go and get forensics in here now," Chief Vick ordered, her worry, doubled now, as she can see that this must have been an inside job.

"Mr. Spencer," Chief Vick said as she turned to face Shawn. "Can you sense or find my Detective?"

"Sorry, Chief, but I'm not getting anything," Shawn said as he shook his head.

Henry looked at his son; he could see the fear in Shawn's eyes, which left him wondering if Shawn did know something about Lassiter's disappearance. Just as he was about to ask Shawn if he knew anything about what was going on, Shawn's phone rang.

Looking at the caller ID, Shawn screwed his face up in confusion. It was Mad Dog, but he knew not to call him. Excusing himself to answer it, he grabbed McNab's arm as he walked past and the two of them walked to a secluded corner.

"Mad Dog, what do you want?" Shawn snapped.

"Sorry, but, I have the new time for the meeting today."

"Sorry, when is it?"

"Seven and they said they have a test for you."

"Yeah, McNab said something about that. Do you know what it is?"

"No, but they said if you don't do it yourself, then the deal is off."

"Ok, I have a strange feeling I know what it is. Look, I don't need you to kidnap Lassie anymore."

"Really, why's that?"

"Because, someone has already kidnapped him from the station."

"For real, Shawn?"

"For real, now you set up the meeting and I'll be there about six thirty."

"Ok, see you then. Oh, is McNab going to be here as well?"

"No, he'll be busy looking for our missing Detective."

"Ok, see you at six-thirty. Bye."

"Bye." And with that both men hung up. Shawn and McNab headed back to where Chief Vick was and waited for orders. Shawn just prayed that it isn't who he thought it was who had Lassie.

Meanwhile, Lassiter woke up somewhere in a very dark and damp cellar. He started to feel around to see if there was anything he could use as a weapon. As his body started to shiver, he realised that he was naked and as he tried to move, his body ached in protest.

Just as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, a bright light is shone straight into his face. Lassiter tried to cover his eyes only to find his arms are chained together.

"Now, Detective Lassiter, that type of movement could easily be viewed as an attack, didn't you know that?" Detective Huet said as he knelt down beside Lassiter.

"Why, you bastard!" Lassiter yelled.

"Now, now, Lassiter, it's not personal, just business, ya' know." He turned to the others in the room. "Right, boys, you can have him for now, but remember I want him alive."

Detective Huet stepped aside, which allowed five very large men to move forward. Detective Huet just stood there watching as they spent the next two hours beating the hell out of Lassiter. He knew that, in the end, Lassiter needed to die, but he was going to use him to prove that the man he was about to do a drug deal with, was for real. And the way he was going to do it was to have him kill Detective Lassiter and dispose of his body.


	11. The Death of Detective Lassiter

As Shawn promised, he was at Mad Dog's place by six-thirty. He walked into the house and went straight out the back to find Mad Dog and his gang setting up the chairs for the meeting.

"You're wasting your time," Shawn called as he got closer.

"What do you mean boss?"

"What I mean is that I think you're going to find out they're going to ring up and change the location."

"Why?"

"Because, I have a funny feeling they're the ones who have Lassie and the test is that we're going to have to kill him."

"Damn, do you think you will be able to shoot him?"

"Of course I can," Shawn snapped angrily at the thought that mad Dog didn't think he could do what was need to be done to make sure the deal went down. "Now, let's get all the stuff we need ready." Just as he said this, Mad Dog's phone rang.

"Mad Dog, here."

"-"

"You do, sure I know the place. We will be there in about half an hour."

"-"

"Ok, bye." Mad Dog hung up the phone and gave Shawn a knowing look. "You were right, they've changed the meeting place and they want us to bring a van."

"That's for us to move Lassie's body. Right, you get what we need and I'll make a few phone calls." Both men headed off to do what they needed to do.

Half an hour later they were walking into an old abandoned house. Standing in the living room was Detective Huet and Officer Malcolm. Each man had a gun in his hand, aimed straight at the newcomers. Mad Dog did what he was paid to do and stood in between Shawn and the pointing guns.

"What's he doing here, Mad Dog?"

"He's my boss."

"You're who we're here to do a deal with?"

"Yes, do you have a problem with that?" Shawn said never taking his eyes off them.

"We just thought…well, you don't give the impression of a drug dealer," Huet said disgust dripping off every word.

"Why thank you, that is why I've never been caught. Now you have a test for me?"

"Yes, we do," Huet said looking at Malcolm and then both men busted into laughter.

When they looked back at Shawn and Mad Dog, they stopped laughing. Mad Dog stood there with a scowl on his face. But, it was the cold and unfeeling look in Shawn's eyes that stopped them in their tracks. After working for four years with the man, never, and they meant never, had they ever seen him like this. The look was so cold that they couldn't help but shiver.

"If you have finished your joking around, can we get back to this test?" Shawn's voice was so calm and so quiet, that Huet and Malcolm wondered just what they had gotten themselves involved in.

"Sure, it's this way." Huet led the way to the cellar. "Wait here," and with that they walked up to a door and unlocked it. They them turn back around to face Shawn. "We want you to dispose of this." Pushing the door open, it revealed Detective Lassiter lying naked and bloody on the floor.

Huet was sure that the cold expression would disappear when Shawn saw Lassiter. Well, it did, but instead of the shocked look he was expecting, Shawn gave a smile; a smile that could only be explained as pure evil.

"I told you that they had him. Thank you, Detective Huet, I was just arranging for Mad Dog to get rid of Lassie when he went missing. Now they won't be bothering him, since Chief Vick realises it was an inside job. So, do you want to stay and watch, or just wait in the living room for when I finish, so we can work out if this deal is going down or not."

"We want to watch," Officer Malcolm snapped. He wanted to make sure Lassiter was dead and that Spencer did it.

"Fine. Mad Dog, get Doc."

"Yes sir," Mad Dog answered before he walked out.

While Mad Dog was gone, Shawn set up his gun.

"Why are you using a silencer?"

"Do you really not know?" Shawn said looking at them like they were mad, when he got no response he went on to explain. "If I shot him without it, you better give us all something to protect our hearing."

"Of course, the noise that shot would make would deafen us," Huet said as he realised what Shawn was saying.

Mad Dog walked back in with another man. Malcolm and Huet guessed he must have been Doc.

"Bring out the Detective," Shawn said through gritted teeth.

"Yes sir," Mad Dog and Doc answered at the same time.

Both men walked into the room where Lassiter was laying. They dragged his body out of the room and dumped it in front of Shawn, who just stood there unmoving, holding his gun loosely beside him.

"Wake him up and put him on his knees," Shawn ordered as his eyes wandered over Lassiter's body. He noticed that Lassiter's hands were handcuffed behind his back and then handcuffed to his feet, making it impossible for him to escape.

Mad Dog threw cold water over Lassiter and he and Doc started laughing when Lassiter coughed and spluttered as he was shocked awake.

Suddenly, two very strong hands grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him to his knees.

Lassiter shivered as he knelt, naked, on the cold hard concrete floor of his prison cell.

His body was covered in bruises and cuts from the constant beatings he had received and his hands and feet were still handcuffed.

Lassiter winced a little as the fingers that belonged to the two men that held him firm, dug deeply into his shoulders.

He turned his head to see the person that was standing over him. Only he didn't see who he was expecting, instead, it was Spencer looking down at him. At first he thought Spencer had come to rescue him, but when his eyes dropped and he saw the gun in Spencer's hand, he knew he was there to kill him.

Looking up into the face of his executioner, he felt the blood mixed with sweat as it ran down his face, burning his eyes. But despite all the pain, all he could do was focus on the cold and unfeeling green eyes that were staring into his blue ones. Eyes that he was sure not long ago held love for him.

"Spencer, why?" Lassiter whispered because his throat was dry.

He was desperate for an answer, but all he got was the cold metal barrel of a gun pressed against his head. Suddenly, he realised it was his own gun, the one he had left on his desk and all that he could think was, how this was so wrong; that he shouldn't be here. He was just doing his duty and now he was about to die for doing it. As he felt Spencer tense up slightly steadying the gun to fire, Lassiter heard him speak.

"Do you have any last words, Detective?" The voice and words sounded so...foreign; so...out of place, coming from Spencer.

"No!" Lassiter whispered with a raspy voice.

"What? Not even going to beg for your life, Detective? Pathetic, aren't you; and here I was, thinking you were better than this. I thought you were a good detective. I guess I was wrong." The voice was mocking him and he could also hear it dripping with hate. Lassiter could feel his own hatred rising, but he could do nothing to stop what was about to happen.

All he could do was to think about how it should be him shooting this son-of-a-bitch, not the other way around and it definitely shouldn't be Spencer who was about to pull the trigger on him, that he should have shot Spencer right from the very start. Right from the moment they had met.

But instead, he fell in love with the man and now, that man was showing how he really felt about him; that he hated him and wanted him dead. So he had nothing to live for; nothing to fight for.

He closed his eyes as he heard the firing pin click, and prayed for a miracle. The next thing he knew, there was a pain in his head and he felt himself falling backwards, then there was nothing, only blackness.

Shawn turned towards Huet and Malcolm, nodding back at Lassiter's lifeless body.

"Do you want to make sure he's dead?"

They both looked at the body; they could see the head wound and the blood leaking out of it. Shaking their heads no, they just turned and headed back to the living room.

"You two put the body in the back of the van and take it to the drop off area. I'll finish up here."

"Yes sir." And with that Shawn walked back into the main part of the house as Mad Dog and Doc disposed of Lassiter's body. The meeting only lasted a few minutes and they agreed to meet again in a few days, to do the deal.

As soon as Shawn walked into the station the next morning, he could feel the tension. His dad walked over to him, he could see the sadness in his eyes.

"Shawn, I think you better sit down for this." Shawn just stared at his dad and then he looked around the bullpen. Seeing Detective Huet and Officer Malcolm watching him, he sat down in the closest chair to where he was. "Shawn," Henry said making sure he had his son's full attention before continuing. "I'm sorry, but the police in New York just called in, they found Lassiter's body about two hours ago."

"He's dead?"

"Yes," Henry turned his head and watched as Chief Vick walked out of her office. She was heading their way, so he needed to finish off what he had to say now. "Chief Vick and I are flying there to identify his body. We haven't been able to get hold of Juliet or Gus. Do you think you can do that for us please."

"Sure Dad, if they're at the hospital, then they could have their phones turned off."

"That's what I thought, but you will try and get hold of them for us?"

"Yes, Dad, I will and, Dad…"

"Yes, Shawn," Henry said just as Chief Vick reached them.

"You will let me know when you get there won't you?"

"Will do, kiddo, will do." Henry gave Shawn a pat on the shoulder. "We've got to go now but we'll ring you as soon as we touch down." And with that Henry and Chief Vick walked out the door.

As soon as they left, Shawn grabbed his phone and made a call. All he could think of though, was this was going to made the deal go down a whole lot easier.


	12. Lassie, Please, Come Home

Lassiter wandered around in the blackness that surrounded him. He would have said it was a quiet darkness, but that would have been a lie. Somewhere, out in the darkness there was a soft and distant beeping. Sometimes, he wasn't in the darkness, sometime he was watching his life go by, as if he were watching a movie.

At first it was just the pictures. He stood there watching his father leave, or the time his mother and father brought his baby sister home. There were flashes from all over his life. There were some about events that he didn't even remember in his conscious life. Like the time Sergeant Spencer had brought his son to the station. Spencer had wondered off and a search was conducted. Lassiter was the one to find him, curled up on one of the beds in an empty cell.

Lassiter watched in awe as the images showed him standing over a sleeping Spencer. The funniest thing was Spencer wasn't the five year old that had gone missing. Now he was a teenager who had been in an accident and was suffering from a concussion. Lassiter now realised this was when he started to have feelings for the younger man.

More images saw Spencer around the station and he was watching him.

The next one was when Sergeant Spencer had come into work upset because he and Spencer had had a fight and Spencer left. It was around the same time he met Victoria. Try as he could, he couldn't figure out why he had forgotten all of this. Had his life been that terrible that he had blocked out the only thing that really felt right to him? That he had blocked out Spencer to stop himself from ever being hurt or to have happiness again?

Then the voices started, at first he couldn't make out what they were saying, they were too far away and too quiet. With them came flashes of images, which were blurred and faded. But as time passed the voices cleared and so did the images. The images and voices went together. If it was Victoria's voice, it was telling him, exactly what he was seeing. So as her voice talked about their wedding day, that was what he saw.

He heard Chief Vick's, O'Hara's and McNab's voices on a regular basis. Occasionally it was Victoria's, Henry's and even Guster's voice talking to him about things that they had done over the years of working with each other. But mostly it was voices of strangers or Spencer's voice.

The strange voices were confusing, they talked as if they belonged to doctors or nurses and they used medical terms that he really didn't understand. When they talked, there were no images, just the voices. But when it was Spencer talking to him, it wasn't just his voice and images he had, there were also feelings that came to him.

Lassiter was swamped by the feelings of love, anger, betrayal and even confusion, as some of the images he knew had never happened. They were as if…they were a hope for the future. But how could that be? He was dead. Spencer had shot him in the head, at point blank range. The other thing about when Spencer spoke to him, was the images and the way he describe what was happened was so clear, so real, as if he was there, right at that moment.

Some were about when they first meet. When he woke up in that jail cell and saw Lassie looking down at him. Others were the crimes they solved: then there was the time Spencer had found him drunk in the bar and Lassie had poured out his life to him. Then it would jump to a time and place that he was sure hadn't happened yet. Things that Spencer must have wanted to happen between them, but he had never had the courage to say or act on them.

But no matter what, Spencer's voice would always bring them back to the time and place where he shot him. This was when Spencer's voice would get strained and he would be constantly apologizing for what he did. Lassiter could even hear the heartache and feel the tears on his shoulders or hand. It was funny, but whenever Spencer's voice was with him, it would also feel as if someone was touching him.

But the one thing that confused him the most was, that no matter whose voice it was they keep begging for him to come back. To keep on fighting, so he could return to them. But he just doesn't understand what they mean.

Then one day, it wasn't an image which comes with Spencer's voice. It was Spencer himself. He stood there in the darkness, staring at him. Behind Spencer, there was a light; a very small light to be sure, but light never the less.

"Lassie, are you ready to come home?"

"Home…as in Heaven or Hell?" Lassiter said, as he wasn't sure which way he was going to go. He had been a good boy and man all his life, but the feelings he had for Spencer, he also knew they were a sin, maybe a big enough sin to send him to hell.

"As in…home, Lassie. As in, your life before this, with all your friends and family and me, I mean, that is if that's what you want.

"To go home, to see everyone I left behind. But, how can I?"

"Just follow me," Spencer said walking up to him. He took Lassiter's hands in his and then leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. Letting go, Spencer started to walk towards the light. "Just follow my voice, Lassie, and you will be home soon."

"Lassiter hesitated for a second, before following Spencer into the growing light. Suddenly Spencer was gone and Lassiter was blinded by the bright light. In the confusion he heard a voice call out.

"He's awake; Detective Lassiter is awake." A smile formed on his face as he realised that the voice was McNab's.


	13. Was It All a Dream?

Lassiter lay in his hospital bed. It had been one long week since he woke up. One whole week and he is still in the dark as to what had actually happened to him. The only thing he was sure of was that he wasn't shot in the head by Spencer. The main reason he knows this, is the fact that he is alive and the second reason is the fact that he doesn't have a hole in his head.

But surely, he couldn't have dreamt it all, could he? No, it can't be that. Then why, when he asks what had happened to him, no one will answer him. The other thing that worried him was the fact that everyone had visited him except for Spencer, and again, when he asked about him, no one would give him a straight answer.

But if he dreamt it, why did he dream of such a terrible death for himself? And why, of all people, did he dream that Spencer, the man he was in love with, was his executioner? Or was this his mind's way of telling him that he needs to tell Spencer how he really feels, before he kills the love he has for him. But how could he tell Spencer if he's never around.

Anyway, today he was going to get the last of his test results to find out if he has suffered any brain damage. If all is clear, he will be able to go home that afternoon. He had asked Chief Vick if she could be there and she had said yes. It wasn't because he thought there was going to be anything wrong, he just wanted someone there just in case there was.

Looking over to the clock on the wall again, he saw it was ten and the doctor was coming at ten fifteen. Just as he let out a sigh, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Lassiter called out to whomever it was.

The door opened and in walked Chief Vick and Henry, O'Hara, Guster and McNab. But the one person he wanted to see all this time was nowhere to be seen. His disappointment showed as he gave the group a sad smile.

"Sorry, Detective, they all wanted to come and give you support."

"But if you want us to leave we will," Henry added.

"No, I'm glad you're all here," Lassiter said still wearing the sad smile.

Just then there was another knock on the door and the doctor walked in, followed by Spencer. Lassiter let out a sigh of relief, when he saw Spencer standing there, but was a little concerned when he didn't make much of a move to enter the room.

As the doctor talked quietly to the Chief, Lassiter gave Spencer the once over. "He seemed the same, but there was just one thing different from the Spencer he knew and loved. This Spencer wore a serious face. No smile on his lips or in his eyes. They were both filled with seriousness and this worried Lassiter. He also could see that Spencer was giving him the once over as well.

Shawn stood there looking at the man he was in love with. He knew Lassie wouldn't want anything to do with him once they explained that it was his actions that nearly ended his life. He could see in Lassie's eyes that the man was searching for something, what he wasn't sure, but the two things he could see were worry and concern. He watched as Lassie's eyes suddenly grew wide and then he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, Shawn found Mad Dog standing there.

Lassiter watched as Spencer and Mad Dog had a few quick words and then Spencer turned around and grabbed McNab. Once again words were exchanged between the three men and then Mad Dog and McNab walked away. Spencer watched them leave and when he turned back he found everyone looking at him. Lassiter watched as his cheeks brushed with a light tinge of embarrassment.

"Sorry," Shawn said looking down at the floor.

"Well, if everyone is ready, I'll begin," the doctor said as he turned to face Lassiter. "Detective Lassiter, all of your test have come back fine. We cannot find anything physically or psychologically wrong with you. However, depending on how you react to the information these people are about to give you, will determine whether or not you will be discharged today. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Doctor." Lassiter eyed the rest of the people in the room.

"Good, I'll be back to check on you a little bit later." As he turned around he continued to speak to the others. "I wish you all good luck." And with that he walked away.

"Thank you, Doctor," Chief Vick said as he walked past her. "Now, Mr. Spencer, would you like to come forward and explain why Detective Lassiter is in hospital."

"Not really, but I don't have a choice," Shawn said with a dead seriousness Lassiter had never heard before. Shawn let out a sigh, before he moved a little closer. "Lassie…Detective Lassiter, I'm sorry that I nearly killed you."

"You nearly killed me? How?" Lassiter said sitting up even more.

"It will be easier to tell you it all from the beginning, but please don't interrupt," Shawn said and Lassiter could see the pleading in his eyes.

"Ok, I'll stay quiet until you finish."

"Well, I will start by saying that I'm Chief Superintendent…"

"You're what?" Lassiter yelled shocked at finding out that Spencer is a cop.


	14. Shawn Explains

"I thought you were going to keep quiet, Detective," Shawn said rolling his eyes.

"Sorry," Lassiter said looking down at his hands. "I'll keep quiet now."

"You better. As I was saying, I am Chief Superintendent, Detective Inspector Shawn Spencer. I'm attached to the police commissioner's office. I was here to set up a drug deal with the local dealer. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to break into their circle." Shawn frowned when he saw that Lassiter was about to say something. Lassiter must have seen this and he quickly changed his mind and kept his mouth shut.

"I did have help here; in fact, Sergeant McNab supplied me with a lot of details so I could pull off my undercover story which was me, being a psychic." Shawn watched as the information sank in and the realisation dawned in Lassiter's eyes.

"So, along with a group of undercover officers, we came up with the Mad Dog Biker Gang. And with their help, we finely got in. But, as soon as McNab told me you were looking into the increase of drug crimes, I knew I had to get you away from the case before you got hurt, or worse." Lassiter could see the emotions change in Spencer's eyes, the pain, the fear and the worry. He could understand the pain and fear, what he couldn't understand was what Spencer was worried about. And as if Spencer could read his thoughts, Shawn's face fell neutral.

"Anyway…since I couldn't talk you into handing the case over to someone else, either McNab or I was able to ring Mad Dog and warn him when you were going around there. Not that there was anything there for you to find, it just gave 'the gang' the chance to get dressed the right way for you to see them." Shawn laughed a little as he remembered how they had searched the place with the sniffer dogs. Shaking his head Shawn continued.

"When we were at the hospital and that kid produced the Devil's Tail, I knew we were in trouble. That is why I had my 'episode', so we could get them off you."

"But how?" Juliet blurted out. When everyone looked at her, she continued, as to explain herself. "Well, you didn't say no one else could talk." Everyone let out a little laugh at this and Shawn just shook his head.

"Fair enough, Jules, fair enough. Well, while I was on the floor, you were leaning over me and Lassie was trying to deal with the family. McNab took the evidence bag from your pocket and put it into mine. After the doctors had taken me out, I explained to them what was going on. They hid the drugs for me, because I knew you would end up searching me and once you all left, I gave the pills to McNab to give to Mad Dog to get them checked out." He could see Juliet's mind working overtime as she processed the information.

"But, I still had the problem of getting you two away from this case."

"So, it worked out good for you, that O'Hara's family had that accident, didn't it? Sorry O'Hara, how are they, by the way?"

"Oh, Lassie, Jules' family wasn't in an accident. It was a set up. Officer Harrison worked for me and he had been the ordered to fill in O'Hara and Gus on what was happening and to keep them out of sight, which he did. But then things got even more complicated when Chief Vick partnered you up with my target, Detective Huet."

"That's why you gave him such a strange look. So, what did you have planned to get rid of me?"

"We were going to kidnap you. But I wasn't expecting Huet to kidnap you first." Shawn looked down at the floor as if he was thinking about something, when he looked back up, Lassiter could see the fear was back. "I'm sorry, Lassie, but I might have made it easier for them to take you."

"How?"

"I got McNab to slip a mild sleeping pill into your drink so I could get you to go home. Mad Dog's group was supposed to have taken you from there. But, because you were already feeling the effects of the drug, it allowed Huet to take you. Do you know why they took you?"

"Yes, I had overheard them talking about a drug deal they were going to do. When I realised I had left my gun on my desk, I went to take out my phone in order to record anything else they might say, but I dropped it, so they caught me. In my attempt to get away, I slipped and hit my head on the floor. How did they get me out of the station without anyone seeing?"

"They cut the lock and alarm on that back door and took you out that way."

"Ok, well I guess we better let you continue your story, Spencer."

"Thanks, Lassie. Anyway, after you were taken and Huet had rung Mad Dog to push back our meeting time and said they had a test for me; I guessed that they had you. I took your gun from your desk so you wouldn't get into too much trouble for leaving it out in the open and went to meet Mad Dog. And, as I guessed, they once again changed the meeting time and place. I also worked out that the test would be for me to kill you and dispose of your body."

"Then, your shooting me was for real?"

"In a way, I adjusted your gun to shoot a special bullet. It was a soft projectile, which on impact, made it look like a bullet hole, weeping blood and all. I needed you to be awake when I did this, to make it look real. After we had you awake, Doc, who is a real doctor by the way, gave you an injection that was to knock you out again. That, with the fake bullet hole, made it look like I really shot you. What we weren't expecting was that along with the beatings you got, Huet and his gang had drugged you up as well. And, well…you had a reaction to the mixture of drugs in your system, which put you into the coma you were in."

Lassiter stared at Spencer; the seriousness was gone, replaced by anxiety. He watched as Spencer tried to compose himself. After about five minutes of silence, Lassiter decided to talk.

"It wasn't your fault. You were trying to save me. No one could see what was going to happen and, I'm fine. The doctor said I am. So stop beating yourself up over it." Lassiter reached out and rubbed Spencer's arm, trying to calm the man before him. He didn't get the reaction he was expecting. Instead of agreeing with him, Spencer just moved further away from him.

"Anyway, we waited until morning and Officer Harrison, using a different name, rang Chief Vick and told her that your body had been found in New York. When Dad and the Chief got to the airport, Officer Harrison met them and explained what was going on. He then took them to the hotel were Jules and Gus were, to wait until the drug deal and bust, went down, which was two days later. Unfortunately, it turned out that there were five officers involved in Huet's gang. But we brought them all down and Huet made a deal for protective custody by handing over the person who was making the Devil's Tail. In all, it turned out well, except for you."

Shawn looked Lassie in the eyes. He wanted to see if he could tell if Lassie hated him. But all he could see was relief. Relief and…hope? What could Lassie have hope for? Shawn shook his head. He was glad that Lassie didn't hate him; he couldn't hope that Lassie's hope was for them to have a chance together. After all, why would he want to be with a man who had constantly been lying to him and then nearly got him killed? Seeing Lassie yawn, he decided it was time for everyone to leave.

"OK, I think we better let Lassie get some sleep so Doc will let him go home this afternoon," Shawn said smiling.

"Doc and my doctor are the same man?"

"Yes, and he is very good at his job, both of them. Now you get some rest and if you still have any question, I'll answer them when you're home, Detective."

Everyone said their goodbyes and as they started to leave Lassiter called out. "Spencer, can you stay a few minutes longer?"

Shawn stopped in his tracks. He knew this had gone too well and now Lassie wanted to tell him that he never wanted to see him again. Without turning around, he answered. "Are you sure it can't wait until later, Detective?"

"I'm positive."

Taking a deep breath, Shawn watched the others leave and with his dad being the last person, he pulled the door closed. Turning around to face Lassiter, Shawn waited for what was to come.

"Come over here, please," Lassiter's tone was soft and gentle.

Shawn cocked an eyebrow at this. He was confused, for this wasn't what he was expecting. But he did as he was told and he approached the bed where Lassie was lying.

"Look, Lassie, I'll get a transfer away from Santa Barbara and you will never have to see me again," Shawn said never looking at the man before him.

"Why would you want to do something like that?"

"So you don't have to look at the man who nearly killed you."

"I thought I told you not to blame yourself for that."

"But…"

"Now you listen to me, Spencer. It was not your fault and I would be hurt if you left."

"Sure you would…wait…what! Why would you be hurt if I left?"

"Because," Lassie paused as he took a deep breath. It was now or never. "Because, Spencer, I'm in love with you."

"You are?"

"Yes, I am. I'll understand if you don't feel the same way, but…" Lassiter was cut off by Spencer's lips on his. And as his eyes closed, he felt he had finally found the arms he belonged in.

Both men were so engrossed in the kiss, they failed to see the door open and then shut. Doc turned to McNab and Mad Dog, a blush showing on his face.

"I, I think you might have to wait a little bit, before you can talk to Shawn. He's a bit busy at the moment."

"Told you two that he had fallen for Detective Lassiter." And with that, the three men walked off to wait until their Chief would emerge from Detective Lassiter's room.


End file.
